Ocean View passes first test

Huntington Valley proudly displays the banner it won as champion of the District 62 Junior All-Star tournament.

Huntington Valley proudly displays the banner it won as champion of the District 62 Junior All-Star tournament.

Mike Sciacca, michael.sciacca@latimes.com

Champions of the 2011 Little League District 62 All-Star Tournament have been decided.

In Majors All-Star play, Ocean View capped an undefeated run by knocking off Huntington Valley to capture a championship. In the 9/10 division, Ocean View came up with two wins to defeat Robinwood for the crown. Ocean View also won the 10/11 title, coming back from an early deficit to get past Huntington Valley. One game in the Junior division took two days to decide, but in the end, Huntington Valley capped its undefeated tourney with a one-run win over Ocean View.

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Majors All-Stars

Ocean View took an early lead on Huntington Valley and went on to record a 13-3 victory at Mile Square Park as the league repeated as district champion.

"We are all pleased to win the District 62 title this season, but we also realize that this is just the first milestone and by no means our end goal," Ocean View Manager Jeff Pratto said. "We have a lot of work to do and a lot of room for improvement if we hope to get back to San Bernardino again."

Ocean View went through its batting order in the top -half of the first inning to score four runs. They registered four hits and a walk and another batter was hit by pitch. Hagen Danner started the game with a single and later scored on Trevor Windisch's hit up the middle. Jason Mayorga picked up an RBI on a fielder's choice before Steven Kotkosky roped a two-run triple to the corner in left field to build the lead to 4-0.

Ocean View extended the lead to 6-0 in the top of the fourth when Danner delivered a one-out solo home run and Nick Pratto drove in a run on a fielder's choice.

Starting pitcher Braydon Salzman of Ocean View threw the first four innings and limited Huntington Valley to just two hits, a second-inning leadoff single by Luke Young and single in the fourth by Evan Gray. Salzman had five strikeouts and threw only 39 pitches and also had an infield single in the first inning. He was replaced on the mound by Jack Furry, who threw the fifth inning. Ryo Takada pitched the sixth to close out the win.

Huntington Valley scored two of its three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Both Jonathan Miranda and Sammy Blodgett drew walks, Joshua Bush had a two-out RBI double and Jimmy Davis' single scored the second run.

Huntington Valley got its final run in the bottom of the sixth when Gray drew a leadoff walk and later scored on a wild pitch.

Leading, 6-2, through five innings, Ocean View put the game away by scoring seven runs in the top of the sixth. Danner singled and one out later, Nick Pratto homered well past the fence in right field to make it 8-2. Windisch singled and Mayorga doubled before Kotkosky, crushed a three-run home run beyond the left-field fence. Kotkosky drove in five runs for the game. Danner drew a bases loaded walk in his second plate appearance of the inning and Anthony Martinez, who had walked, scored Ocean View's final run on an infield ground out by Salzman.

Ocean View returns to Mile Square Park on Saturday for the California Section 10 Tournament. They open play at 5:30 p.m. against Aliso Viejo (District 55).

Last year, Ocean View advanced to the Western Regionals championship game in San Bernardino.

"They are a solid team and can put the ball in play throughout the lineup," Jeff Pratto said of Aliso Viejo. "We feel our pitching is deep enough to handle them and our hitting timely enough to move us forward to the next game."

Once-beaten Ocean View came up with two wins in two days against undefeated Robinwood in the championship series at Mile Square Park to capture the 9/10 title.

Robinwood had defeated Ocean View, 8-0, in a tournament game June 28.

In a July 6 championship series game between the teams, Robinwood rode hits by Rocco Peppi, Andrew Soika and Braden Wylde, to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. That lead grew to 5-0 in the second on back-to-back doubles by Riley Sterzer and Cade Palma and singles by Troy Kent and Peppi.

Ocean View began its comeback in the bottom of the second, using a single by Daniel Williams and a home run by Daniel Mayorga to cut the lead to 5-2. Robinwood got one of those runs back in the top of the fourth to move to a 6-2 advantage.

Ocean View responded with a nine-run, nine-hit at-bat in the bottom of the fourth to take its first lead. Cole Minato and Nick Wiley each had two hits in the inning and hits by Colton Meyer, Hunter Baclig, Cory Nicholson, Mayorga and Ryan Green led to an 11-6 lead. Robinwood scored another run in the fifth only to be followed by a six-run inning by Ocean View to complete a 17-7 game.

In the championship game July 7, Robinwood took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but Ocean View scored the final nine runs to win, 9-1.

In the bottom of the first, Minato, Meyer, Ken Takada and Mayorga had hits and a sacrifice fly from Daniel Williams led to three runs that put Ocean View in front for good, 3-1. A bunt single from Hunter Custodio and hits from Minato and Meyer accounted for another run in the second inning that put the lead at 4-1.

The score stayed that way until Ocean View turned six hits into five runs in the bottom of the fifth to push the lead to 9-1.

Ocean View Manager Tod Minato said the pitching of Danny Smith was the "story of the game." Smith allowed only run against a potent Robinwood offense in 5 2/3 innings.

"Going through the losers bracket is always hard, but to have to beat a team twice in a row after losing to them 8-0 a week before is a testament to the character and soul of this team," Tod Minato said. "We were facing elimination and down by two runs with two outs in the last inning against a very good Seaview team and scored nine runs with two outs (a 10-5 elimination-game win by Ocean View on June 30). I'm hoping we are able to carry this identity with us in Sectionals this Saturday."

Ocean View rallied from a five-run deficit against Huntington Valley on July 6 to pull out a 10-7 win at Mile Square Park to finish the tournament undefeated.

Huntington Valley jumped to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning, although Ocean View came back by scoring twice on a double by Ben McConnell that drove in Jack Pelc and Landen Hill.

"This was the first time we were behind like that the whole tournament," Ocean View Manager Steven Blokdyk said. "There was no panic and we knew we had to just chip away. The true character of this team really showed."

Blokdyk said that Ocean View pitcher Reid Sebby "shook off the rough first inning" and continued to battle on the mound.

Huntington Valley was up, 5-4, in the top of the third when McConnell, playing at shortstop, dove to catch a line drive and then double-up a Huntington Valley runner at second base. Blokdyk called McConnell's double play the game's "most spectacular play."

The score was tied at 7 through four innings. Huntington Valley did load the bases in the top of the fifth, but Ocean View pitcher Zeke Ziegler struck out the side to get out of the jam. In the bottom of the fifth, James Williams gave Ocean View the lead for good on a solo home run to center field. Two insurance runs crossed the plate before the inning was through to make it a 10-7 game.

"It's games like this that can define a team's All-Star season," Blokdyk said. "These boys never quit and we hope to carry this momentum into Sectionals."

Ocean View advances to the to the Section 10 tournament and will open against Aliso Viejo (District 55) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lincoln Elementary School in Corona del Mar.

Huntington Valley went extra innings, and an extra day, to topple Ocean View and claim the District 62 Junior Division banner.

Huntington Valley put up a monstrous seventh-inning rally July 6 to tie the score against Ocean View, then scored three runs in the top of the 10th inning of a continuation game between the two teams July 7 and held on for an 11-10 title-clinching victory at Marina Park in Huntington Beach.

"We were down to our last strike four times in the seventh inning, yet managed to score six runs to tie the score," Huntington Valley Manager Rick Johnson said. "It was an incredible comeback by our kids.

"We have a team that has great chemistry. It's just a great group of kids. We always have the philosophy to never give up, and the kids didn't give up. It was amazing."

The biggest hit of the seventh-inning comeback was a three-run home run by Will Donald that tied the score.

As district champion, Huntington Valley advances to the Section 10 tournament and begins play against San Clemente (District 68) at 10 a.m. Saturday at San Juan Sports Park in San Juan Capistrano.